BOOK H: ZAKAT

Table of Contents:

h1.0 WHO MUST PAY ZAKAT

(Muhammad Shirbini Khatib:) Lexically zakat means growth, blessings an increase in good, purification, or praise. In Sacred Law it is the name for a particular amount of property that must be payed to certain kinds of recipients under the conditions mentioned below. It is called zakat because one's wealth grows through the blessings of giving it and the prayers of those who receive it, and because it purifies its giver of sin and extolls him by testifying to the genuineness of his faith (al-Iqna fi hall alfaz Abi Shuja (y7), 1.183).)

h1.1 Zakat is obligatory:

1. for every free Muslim (O: male, female, adult, or child);
2. who has possessed a zakat-payable amount (Ar. nisab, the minimum that necessitates zakat, def; for livestock h2.4-5; for grain and dried foodstuffs h3.4; for gold, silver, and other money h4.2; and for trade goods h5.1);
3. for one lunar year.

h1.2 Non-Muslims are not obliged to pay zakat, nor apostates from Islam (murtadd, def:o8) unless they return to Islam, in which case they must pay for the time they spent out of Islam, though if they die as non-Muslims their property is not subject to zakat (N: because their property is considered to belong to the Muslim common fund (bayt al-mal) from the moment such people leave Islam).

h1.3 The guardian of a child or insane person is obliged to pay zakat from their property (N: if they owe any ). It is a sin for the guardian not to pay the zakat due on their property, and when the child or insane person becomes legally responsible (O: upon reaching puberty or becoming sane), he is obliged to pay the amount that his guardian neglected to pay (O: of zakat in the past).

h1.4 Zakat is due from the owner of property that has been:

1. wrongfully seized from him;
2. stolen;
3. lost;
4. fallen into the sea;
5. or loaned to someone who is tardy in repayment;

-only if the owner regains possession of it, whereupon he must pay zakat on it for the whole time it was out of his hands (O: for the year or years that no zakat was paid in the absent property, since his having regained it establishes that it belonged to him the whole time, and his ownership of it not vitiated by the mere fact of its not having been in his possession during these years, provided that it has remained a zakat-payable amount (nisab) during them. If it has diminished through expenditure to less than the zakat-payable amount, then no zakat need be paid on it). If the owner cannot regain the property, there is no zakat on it.

h1.5 If a landlord rents someone a house for two years for 40 dinars, which he accepts in advance and retains possession of until the end of the two years, then at the end of the first of the two years he only pays zakat on 20 dinars, but at the end of the second year he pays one year's zakat on the 20 which he paid zakat on at the end of the first year (N: as the 20 has now been in his possession a second year) and pays two years' zakat on the 20 for which he did not previously pay zakat (N: as it has remained in his possession for two full years).

h1.6 Someone with only the zakat-payable amount (O: of gold or silver) must pay zakat on this amount even when he is in debt for an amount equal to it, for debts do not remove the obligation of zakat.

h1.7 Zakat is not due on anything besides:

1. livestock (def: h2.1);
2. (n: some) food crops (h3.2);
3. gold and silver (A: or their monetary equivalents);
4. trade goods;
5. mined wealth (n: meaning gold or silver exclusively, as at h6.1):
6. and wealth from treasure trovers (A: buried in pre-Islamic times).

h1.8 Zakat is paid from the property itself, though it is permissible to take it from another lot of property (N: on condition that the amount paid is from the same type of property (n: of the five types mentioned above) that the zakat is due on, such that one may not, for example, pay money for zakat due on wheat (n: but must pay wheat. An exception to this is trade goods, which are appraised, and zakat may be paid on them with money, as at h5.1(O:) below)).

THE ZAKAT YEAR

h1.9 By the mere fact that a full lunar year transpires (O: i.e. begins and ends while zakat-payable property is in the owner's possession), the poor now own the portion of it that the owner is obliged to pay as zakat. Thus, if someone has had 200 dirhams (n: the minimal zakat-payable amount of silver) in his possession for years without paying zakat, he is only obliged to pay zakat on it for the first year (O: because after that year, the amount owned by the poor (n: 5 dirhams) has diminished the money he possesses to less than the zakat-payable amount).

h1.10 If all one's property were destroyed after having been in one's possession a full year but before it was possible to pay zakat (O: to deserving recipients), then there is no obligation to pay zakat on it (O: because it was destroyed through no fault of the owner); but if only part of the property has been destroyed, such that this diminishes the rest to less than the zakat-payable amount, then one must take the percentage due on the original amount (n: 2.5 percent, for example) from the remaining property, and no zakat is paid on the amount destroyed.

If all or part of one's property is destroyed after having been in one's possession a full year and after it was possible to have paid zakat on it (O: by there being both property and recipients), then one must pay the zakat due on both the remainder and the property destroyed.

h1.11 Zakat is not obligatory if a person's ownership of the property ceases during the year, even if only for a moment, and it then returns to his possession; or if it does not return; or if the person dies during the year.

h1.12 The zakat year beings on property purchased or inherited when the buyer or inheritor takes possession of it, though if a person relinquishes his ownership of property during the zakat year merely to avoid paying zakat on it, this is offensive (O: as the learned differ about its unlawfulness). The more reliable opinion is that it is unlawful, though the transaction would be legally valid (dis: c5.2). But if such a person sells the property after possessing it a full year and before paying zakat on it (O: as when he sells it all, or sells part and the rest is not enough to require zakat), then the sale of the proportion of the property that was owed as zakat is invalid (O: because it belonged to someone else (n: i.e. the recipients, as at h1.9), and it is not valid to sell another's property without his consent), although the sale of the proportion of the property that was not owed as zakat is valid.

h2.0 ZAKAT ON LIVESTOCK

h2.1 Zakat on livestock is restricted to camels, cattle, sheep, and goats.

h2.2 Zakat is obligatory when one has owned:

1. a zakat-payable number of livestock;
2. for one year;
3. and has been grazing them (n: on unowned open range, as discussed below) for the entire year.

There is no zakat on work animals, for example, those trained to plow or bear loads (O: since the purpose in having them is utility, like clothes or household furnishings, and is not production).

Grazing means they have been grazed on open range pasturage (O: open range excluding pasturage growing on land that a person owe (A: as it would then be considered fodder)). If the livestock have been given fodder for a period long enough that they would have been unable to survive had they not eaten during it, then there is no zakat on them, though if fed with it for less than such a period, then this does not affect the necessity of paying zakat on them. (A: There is no zakat on cattle that have been solely fed fodder or grain, even if they could have otherwise been grazed.)

(n: It is religiously more precautionary (def: c6.5) and of greater benefit to the poor to follow Imam Malik on this question. Malik holds that zakat is obligatory whenever one has possessed a zakat- payable number of livestock for a year, whether or not they are work animals, and whether they have been grazed on open pasturage or fed with fodder for the entire year (al-Sharh al-saghir ala Aqrab al- masalik ila madhhab al-Imam Malik(y35), 1.592).)

ZAKAT ON CATTLE

h2.4 For cattle,the minimum on which zakat is payable is 30 head, for which it is obligatory to pay a yearling, meaning a male calf in its second year (A: though a female may take its place, being worth more).

The zakat due on 40 head is a two-year-old female that has entered its third year (A: a male will not suffice).

The zakat on 60 head is 2 yearling males. Zakat on additional numbers is figured in the same way: on 30 head, a yearling male, and on 40 head, a two-year-old female (N: according to which of the two alternatives accommodates the last 10 head (dis:h2.6)).

ZAKAT ON SHEEP AND GOATS

h2.5 For sheep or goats (n: the Arabic ghanam meaning both), the minimum on which zakat is payable is 40, on which it is obligatory to pay a shah, meaning either a one-year-old sheep (O: in its second year) or a two-year-old goat (O: in its third year). The zakat on 121 sheep or goats is 2 shahs on 201 sheep or goats is 3,on 400 sheep or goats is 4 and for every additional 100 the zakat is 1 shah.

CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF ANIMALS

h2.6 Numbers (O: of camels, cattle or sheep) which are between zakat quantities (N: i.e. which number more than the last relevant zakat quantity but do not amount to the next highest one) are not counted, and no zakat is due on them.

h2.7 New offspring of a zakat-payable quantity of livestock that are born during the year are counted for the zakat of the year their mothers are currently in, no matter whether their mothers survive or die. Thus, if one owned 40 sheep or goats which gave birth to 40 young a month before the year's end, but then the 40 mothers died, one's zakat on the offspring would be 1 shah.

h2.9 If a group of livestock are all female, or are both male and female, then only a female animal may be paid as zakat, except as mentioned above (h2.4) for 30 cattle, where a yearling male is acceptable.

h2.10 If a group of livestockare all male, then a male animal may be paid as zakat.

h2.11 If all the livestock are below the minimum age that may be given as zakat (def: h2.4-5), then one of them is given anyway. But if the herd is mixed, with only some of them underage, then only an animal of the acceptable age may be paid.

h2.12 If the animals of the herd are defective, an animal is taken which is of the average defectiveness (O: of the group, defective meaning with defects that permit return for refund when sold as merchandise (def: k5.3)).

h2.13 If the herd is composite, such as sheep and goats, then either kind may be paid as zakat, though the value of the animal given must correspond to the average value of the members of the herd.

h2.14 The following are not taken as zakat unless the owner wishes to give them:

1. a pregnant female (O: because of its superiority);
2. one that has given birth (O: because of the high yield of milk);
3. a stud (O: as it is for insemination, and the owner would suffer its loss);
4. a superior quality animal;
5. or one fattened for eating.

ZAKAT ON JOINTLY OWNED PROPERTY OR VENTURES WITH SHARED FACILITIES

h2.15 Two people pay zakat jointly as a single person if:

1. they jointly own a zakat-payable amount of livestock or something else (O: such as fruit, grain, money, or trade goods), as when two people inherit it;
2. or when the property is not jointly owned, as when each owner has, for example, 20 head of cattle (N: of a herd amounting to the zakat minimum of 40), but they share the same place to bed them down, to gather them before grazing, to pasture, water, or milk them, or share the same stud, employ the same shepherd, or similar, such as having the same watchman (O: for orchards and fields), the same drying or threshing floor (O: for fruit or grain), the same store, or the same warehouse.

h3.0 ZAKAT ON CROPS

h3.1 (N: The rulings of this section apply to the farmers who raise the crops. As for those who buy agricultural produce with the intention to sell it, their produce is no longer considered as crops are, but is rather a type of trade goods, and the zakat on it must be paid accordingly (def; h5).)

h3.2 There is no zakat on grains or legumes except the staple types that people cultivate, dry, and store, such as wheat, barley, millet, rice, lentils, chickpeas, broad beans, grass peas, and Sana'i wheat.

There is no zakat on fruit except for raw dates and grapes (O: the zakat on grapes being taken in raisins, and on dates, in cured dates). There is no zakat on vegetables. Nor is there zakat on seasonings such as cumin or coriander (O: since the aim in using them is preparation of food, not nourishment).

h3.3 One is obliged to pay zakat as soon as one possesses the zakat-payable amount (def: below) of grain, or when the ripeness and wholeness of a zakat-payable amount of dates or grapes is apparent. Otherwise, one is not obliged.

THE ZAKAT-PAYABLE AMOUNT OF CROPS

h3.4 The minimal quantity on which zakat is payable for crops is 609.84 kilograms of net dried weight, free of husks or chaff, though for rice and Sana'i wheat, which are stored in the kernal, the zakat minimum, including husks, is 1219.68 kilograms of dried weight.

Zakat is not taken from grain until it has been winnowed (O: made free of straw), nor from fruits until they are dried (n: made into raisins and dates).

The produce for the entire year (N: i.e the agricultural year) is added together in calculating the zakat minimum (N: when, for example, the season's first crop alone is less than the zakat minimum). When one crop is harvested after another-due to varietal differences or the location of the two fields-in the same year, and of the same kind of crop (n: such as spring wheat and winter wheat), zakat is payed from them as if they were a single quantity. Different varieties of grain are also calculated additively when harvested at the same time, though the fruit or grain of a different year.

Grapes are not calculated cumulatively with dates, nor wheat with barley (O: as they are different from one another).

h3.5 The zakat for crops that have been watered without effort, as by rain and the like, is 10 percent of the crop (N: i.e of the net dried storage weight of the grain, raisins, or dates). The zakat for crops that have been watered with effort such as on land irrigated by ditches (O: or a waterwheel) is 5 percent of the crop. If a crop has been raised without irrigation for part of the year and irrigated for part of it, then the zakat is adjusted (O: according to the period, meaning how much of the time the fruit or crops were growing). (N: It is more reliable to consult agricultural experts as to how much of the crop's water came from rain and how much came from irrigation. If 50 percent of the water came from each, for example, one would pay 7.5 percent of the crop as zakat, as this is the mean between the above two percentages.)

h3.6 After one has paid zakat once on a crop (N: if one is the farmer), there is nothing further due on it (O: as there is no repetition of zakat on one's crops when they are in storage, unlike the repetition of it on money), even if it remains in one's possession for years.

h3.7 It is unlawful for the grower to consume dates or grapes or otherwise dispose of them or sell them before they have been assessed (O: i.e estimated as to how much there is, and the owner made responsible for the portion to be paid as zakat), and if he does , he is responsible for the loss (O: since part of it belongs to the poor (dis:h1.9)).

h3.9 If an act of God destroys the fruit after assessment, there is no zakat on it.

h4.0 ZAKAT ON GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER MONEY

h4.1 Zakat is obligatory for anyone who has possessed the zakat-payable amount of gold or silver for one year.

THE ZAKAT-PAYABLE AMOUNTS OF GOLD, SILVER, AND OTHER MONEY

h4.2 The zakat-payable minimum for gold is 84.7 grams, on which 2.1175 grams (2.5 percent) is due. The zakat-payable minimum for silver is 592-9 grams, on which 1408225 grams (2.5 percent) is due. There is no zakat on less that this.

(N: One must pay zakat (n: 2.5 percent) on all money that has been saved for a year if it equals at least the market value of 592.9 grams of silver (n:that is current during the year). While there is a considerable difference between the value of the gold zakat minimum and the silver zakat minimum, the minimum for monetary currency should correspond to that of silver, since it is better for the poor.)

h4.3 Zakat is exacted proportionately (2.5 percent) on any amount over these minimums, whether the gold or silver is in coins, ingots, jewelry prepared for uses that are unlawful or offensive (dis:f17.6,8,11), or articles which are permanent acquisitions.

h4.4 There is no zakat on (n: gold or silver) jewelery that is for permissible use.

h5.0 ZAKAT ON TRADE GOODS

h5.1 A zakat of 2.5 percent (O: like that of gold and silver as merchandise is assessed according to its value in them) is obligatory for anyone who:

1. has possessed trade goods for a year (N: whether the merchandise itself remains, or whether there is sale and replacement, as below at h5.4-5);
2. whose value (n: at the zakat year's end, as at h5.3) equals or exceeds the zakat minimum (N: 592.9 grams of silver if bought with monetary currency or silver, and 84.7 grams of gold if bought with gold, these being reckoned according to the values of silver and gold existing during the year); provided:
3. that the trade goods have been acquired through a transaction (O: such as a purchase, or acquired by a woman as her marriage payment (Mahr, def:m8), or received as a gift given in return for something else (dis:k31.4), or such as articles rented from someone in order to rent them out to others at a profit, or land rented from someone in order to rent it out to others at a profit);
4. and that at the time of acquisition, the owner intended to use the goods for trade.

There is no zakat on the trade goods if (non-(c) above) the owner acquired them by estate division (irth, def:l1) or received them as a gift, or if (non-(d)) he acquired them by purchase but at the time did not intend using them for trade.

THE BEGINNING OF THE ZAKAT YEAR FOR TRADE GOODS

h5.2 When the owner buys trade goods that cost (N: at least) the gold or silver zakat minimum, the year of the merchandise's possession is considered to have begun at the beginning of the gold or silver's zakat year (N: so that a merchant's zakat is figured yearly on his total business capital and goods).

But the year of the merchandise's possession is considered to have begun at the moment of purchase if:

1. the owner has bought the merchandise for less than the zakat minimum (O: provided the price of the merchandise plus his remaining money do not amount to the zakat minimum);
2. or he has bought it (N: in exchange) for nonmonetary goods (N: provided these are not also trade goods, as at h5.4, for if they are, the zakat year continues from the zakat year of the previous goods).

ESTIMATING WHETHER THE VALUE OF ONE'S TRADE GOODS AMOUNTS TO THE ZAKAT MINIMUM OR NOT

h5.3 Merchandise is appraised (A: at its current market value) at the end of the zakat year:

1. in terms of the same type of money that it was purchased with, if bought with money (N: i.e if purchased with silver or monetary currency, we see if the merchandise's market value at the year's end has reached the silver zakat minimum (def:h5.1(b)); or if with gold, we see if its market value has reached the gold minimum) even if it had been purchased for less than the zakat minimum (N: at the beginning of the year) (O: so that if it has now reached the value of the zakat minimum, one pays zakat on it, and if not, then there is no zakat);
2. or in terms of its value in local monetary currency, if the merchandise was acquired by other than paying money for it (O: such as in exchange for goods, or acquired by a woman as her marriage payment (mahr), or by a husband in exchange for releasing his wife from marriage (def:n5)). If its value equals the zakat minimum (h5.1(b)), then zakat is paid. But if not, then there is no zakat on it until the end of the next year, when it is reappraised and zakat is paid if its value amounts to the zakat minimum, and so on (N: in the following year).

It is not a condition that the value of the trade goods amount to the zakat minimum except at the end of the year (O: not at the beginning, middle, or during the whole of the year).

h5.4 If trade goods are exchanged for other trade goods during the course of the year, this does not interrupt their possession (O: because zakat on merchandise is based on the value, and the value of the previous merchandise and the new merchandise is the same, so the year of its possession is not interrupted by merely transferring it from one set of goods to another), though the zakat year of the funds which a professional money changer exchange, for other funds is interrupted by each exchange (N: and he pays no zakat as long as he keeps changing his business capital).

h5.5 If merchandise is sold during the zakat year at a profit and its price is kept until the end of the year, then zakat on the merchandise's original value is paid at the end of that zakat year, but the zakat on the profit is not paid until the profit has been possessed for a full year.

(n: A second position in the Shafi'i school is that the zakat on the profit is simply paid in the current zakat year of the merchandise, just as one pays zakat on the offspring of livestock (dis:h2.7) in the current year of their mothers (Mughni al-muhtaj ila ma'rifa ma'ani alfaz al-Minhaj (y73), 1.399).)

h6.0 ZAKAT ON MINES AND TREASURE TROVES

h6.1 A zakat of 2.5 percent is immediately due on:

1. the zakat minimum or more of gold or silver (def:h4.2) (O:gold or silver excluding anything else, such as iron, lead, crystal, turquoise, cornellian, emerald, antimony, or other, on which there is no zakat);
2. extracted from a mine (O: i.e a site at which Allah has created gold or silver) located on land permissible for the miner to work or owned by him;
3. and that this amount of ore has been gathered by working the site one time, or several times uninterrupted by abandoning or neglecting the project.

The zakat is only paid after the ore is refined into metal.

If the person stops working the site for a justifiable reason, such as to travel (O: not for recreation, but for something such as an illness) or to fix equipment, then he adds (O: the ore collected after the interruption to that collected before, in calculating the zakat minimum).

Ore found on someone else's land belongs to the owner of the land.

ZAKAT ON TREASURE TROVES

h6.2 An immediate zakat of 20 percent is due when one finds a treasure trove that was buried in pre- Islamic times (N: or by non-Muslims, ancient or modern) if it amounts to the zakat minimum (def: h4.2) and the land is not owned. If such a treasure if found on owned land, it belongs to the owner of the land. If found in a mosque or street, or if it was buried in Islamic times, it is considered as a lot and found article (def: k27).

h7.0 THE ZAKAT OF `EID AL-FITR

WHO MUST PAY IT

h7.1 The zakat of `Eid al-Fitr is obligatory for every free Muslim, provided:

1. that one has the necessary amount (O: 2.03 liters of food);
2. and that on the night before the `Eid and on the ~Eid itself, this is in excess of what one needs to feed oneself and those whom one is obliged to support (def:m12.1), what one needs to clothe them, and in excess of one's debts and housing expenses.

If one's excess amounts to only part of the required zakat, one must pay as much of it as one has.

PAYING THE ZAKAT OF `EID AL-FITR FOR ONE'S DEPENDENTS

h7.2 Someone obligated to pay the zakat of 'Eid al-Fitr must also pay it for every person he is obliged to support, such as his wife and family (O: e.g. his young son, grandson, father, or mother), if they are Muslim and if he has enough food (O: 2.03 liters per person above his own expenses and theirs), though he is not obliged to pay it for his father's wife when supporting his father because of the father's financial difficulties, even though he is obliged to support her (dis: m12.5).

h7.3 If one is obligated to pay the zakat of 'Eid al-Fitr but only has enough to pay part of it, then one begins by paying one's own, then that of one's wife, young child, father, mother, and then one's adult son (O: without an income, as when he is chronically ill or insane, for otherwise one is not obligated to support him).

h7.4 A wealthy woman married to a man too poor to pay her Eid al-Fitr zakat is not obliged to pay her own (A: though it is sunna for her to pay this and all forms of zakat to her husband, even if he spends it on her).

h7.5 The zakat of Eid al-Fitr becomes obligatory when the sun sets on the night before the `Eid (n: meaning on the evening of the last day of Ramadan).

WHAT TYPE OF FOOD MUST BE GIVEN

h7.6 The zakat of `Eid al-Fitr consists of 2.03 liters of the main staple of the area in which it is given, of the kinds of crops on which zakat is payable (def:h3.2). (A: If the main staple is bread, as in many countries, only wheat may be given, and is what is meant by the expression giving food here and in all texts below dealing with expiations (e.g. j3.22(2)).) (N: The Hanafi school permits paying the poor the wheat's value in money, both here and for expiations.) It is permissible to give the best quality of the staple food of the area, but not to give less than the usual quality (O: such as by giving barley where wheat is the main staple).

h7.7 It is permissible to give the zakat of `Eid al-Fitr (N: to deserving recipients (dis: h8.26)) anytime during Ramadan, though the best time is on the day of `Eid al-Fitr before the prayer (def:f19.1). It is not permissible to delay giving it until after the day of the `Eid (O: that is, one may give it until sunset), and is a sin to delay until after this, and one must make it up (N: by paying it late).

h8.0 GIVING ZAKAT TO DESERVING RECEIPIENTS

h8.1 It is unlawful to delay paying what is due from a zakat-payable amount of property when:

1. it has been possessed for one year;
2. one can find the (O: eight) categories (O: of eligible recipients, or some of them) so as to be able to pay it;
3. and the property is present (O: within 81 km./50 mi.);

   -unless one is awaiting a poor person more deserving than those present, such as relative (O: of the person paying zakat whom he is not obliged to support), a neighbor, or a more righteous or needy person (O: than those present. Under these circumstances it is not unlawful to delay giving it because there is an excuse, unless withholding it involves considerable harm for those present).

PAYING ZAKAT IN ADVANCE

h8.2 Zakat, on all types of property that a year's possession of the zakat minimum makes giving obligatory, may be payed for the current year (A: alone) before the year's end whenever the property owner possesses the zakat minimum.

This zakat in advance is considered valid only when the year ends and:

1. the recipient it still among the types eligible for zakat (O: meaning, for example, that his state has not changed from poverty to wealth);
2. the zakat giver is still obligated to pay it;
3. and the property is still as it was (O: i.e. the zakat minimum still exists and has not been destroyed or sold).

The zakat in advance is not valid if (N: before the end of the year):

1. (non-(a) above) the poor person who accepted it dies, or becomes financially independent for some other reason than having accepted the zakat;
2. (non-(b)) the giver dies;
3. or (non-(c)) the property diminishes to less than the zakat minimum by more than the amount given in advance (O: such as when the giver takes out 5 dirhams as zakat in advance from 200 dirhams, but his holdings are subsequently reduced by 10 (N: to 190 dirhams, which is less than the zakat minimum)), even when this reduction is because of sale.

When the zakat in advance is not valid, the giver may take it back if he has explained that the money has been given in advance (O: by merely having said, "This is my zakat in advance," or if the recipient knows it). If what was given as zakat still exists, the recipient gives it back together with any increment organically connected with it, such as additional weight gained by a head of livestock while in the recipient's possession. But the property owner is not entitled to take back an increment that is not organically connected to the zakat, such as its offspring (O: born from the animal while in the recipient's possession).

If the zakat given in advance no longer exists, then the giver is entitled to take back a substitute (O: whether it be the substitute for a commodity that is fungible (mithli, def: k20.3 (1)), such as silver dirhams, or whether for a nonfungible (mutaqawwim) commodity such as sheep or goats, in which case its price is the market value at the time the zakat in advance was accepted, not the time it ceased to exist).

After the return of the zakat in advance, the zakat giver pays the zakat from his wealth again if he is still obliged to.

The zakat in advance that is paid from the zakat-payable amount (nisab) is considered as if still part of the giver's property (O: only in respect to calculating whether the giver's total property equals the zakat-payable amount. It is not actually considered as still belonging to the zakat giver, since the recipient is entitled to dispose of it by sale or otherwise while it is in his possession). Thus, if the zakat giver paid a sheep in advance as zakat on 120 head, and one of the sheep then gave birth to a new lamb, the giver would now be obliged to pay another sheep (O: it being as if he owns the (N: next highest) zakat-payable amount of 121 head (dis:h2.5)).

AUTHORIZING ANOTHER TO DISTRIBUTE ONE'S ZAKAT

h8.3 It is permissible for the zakat giver to personally distribute his zakat to eligible recipients or to authorize an agent (wakil, def:k17) to do so.

It is permissible for the zakat giver to pay his zakat to the imam (A: i.e. the caliph (o25) or his representative), and this is superior unless the imam is unjust, in which case it is better to distribute it oneself.

THE PRAYER OF THE RECIPIENT FOR THE ZAKAT GIVER

h8.4 It is recommended for the poor person (O: receiving zakat when the owner is distributing it) or the agent assigned to deliver the zakat to recipients (N: if the imam has gathered it by means of agents to distribute to the poor) to supplicate for the giver, saying, "May Allah reward you for what you have given, bless you in what you have retained, and purify it for you."

THE INTENTION OF ZAKAT

h8.5 Making the intention of zakat is a necessary condition for the validity of giving it. The intention is made when zakat is paid to the poor person or the one being authorized to distribute it, and one must intend giving it as the zakat of one's property. (O: It is permissible to make the intention before paying the money.) When the owner has made this intention, it is not necessary that the agent distributing it also make an intention before giving it (O: because the owner's intention is sufficient, whether the agent is an ordinary individual or is the ruler. It is also permissible for the owner to authorize an agent to both make the intention and distribute the zakat).

h8.6 It is recommended that the imam dispatch a zakat worker, (O: to collect zakat funds from those obliged to pay, to make this easier for them. Such an agent must be) an upright Muslim (def: o24.4) who knows the rulings of zakat, and who is not of the Hashimi or Muttalibi clans of Quraysh.

THE EIGHT CATEGORIES OF RECIPIENTS

h8.7 It is obligatory to distribute one's zakat among eight categories of recipients (O: meaning that zakat goes to none besides them), one-eighth of the zakat to each category.

(n: In the Hanafi school, it is valid for the giver to distribute his zakat to all of the categories, some of them, or to confine himself to just one of them (al-Lubab fi sharh al-Kitab(y88), 1.155).)

THE POOR

h8.8 The first category is the poor, meaning someone who:

But if one's religious devotions are what keeps one too busy to earn a living one is not considered poor.

h8.9 Someone separated from his money by at least 81 km/50 mi is eligible for zakat. (N: This was in the past. In our day it is fitter to say that he must be far from his money in terms of common acknowledgement (def: f4.5).) (O: Such a person's absent property is as if nonexistent, and his "poverty" continues until the money is present. Likewise, someone owed money on a debt not yet due who does not have any other money is given zakat when it is distributed (N: to suffice him) until the debt becomes due.)

h8.10 People whose needs are met by the expenditures of those who are obliged to support them such as their husbands or families are not given zakat (N: for poverty) (O: though it is permissible for a third party to give zakat to such a dependent by virtue of the dependent's belonging to some category other than the poor or those short of money (def: below), as when the person belongs to a category such as travellers needing money (h8.18) or those whose hearts are to be reconciled (h8.14)).

THOSE SHORT OF MONEY

h8.11 The second category is people short of money, meaning someone who has something to spend for his needs but it is not enough, as when he needs five dirhams, but he only has three or four. The considerations applicable to the poor person also apply to someone short of money (O: namely, that he is given zakat if he cannot earn a living by work befitting him (def: h8.8(b)), or if he can earn a living but attainment of knowledge of Sacred Law prevents his doing so; though if he is able to earn a living but extra devotions prevent him from doing so, then he may not take zakat).

HOW MUCH THE POOR ARE GIVEN

h8.12 A person who is poor or short of money is given as much as needed of tools and materials (O: if he has a trade, such as the tools of a carpenter) with which he can earn a living, or property with which he can engage in trade (O: if a merchant), each according to the demands of his profession. This amount varies, depending on whether, for example, he is a jeweller, clothier, grocer, or other.

If the recipient has no trade (O: i.e. is unable to do any work, whether for wages, by trading, or other), then he is given enough zakat to fulfill his needs from the present till the end of his probable life expectancy (O: based on (N: the average lifespan for someone like him in) that locality). Another position is that such a person is given enough for just one year.

These measures are obligatory when abundant zakat funds are available, whether the imam distributes them or a property owner. But if there is not much zakat available (O: meaning if the owner or imam distribtes funds that are too little to last the poor person for his probable life expectancy or for even one year), it is distributed as is, an eighth to each category.

ZAKAT WORKERS

h8.13 The third category consists of zakat workers, the above-mentioned agents (h8.6) dispatched by the imam. These include the person collecting it, the clerk (O: recording what the owners give), the person who matches the payees to recipients, and the one who distributes it to recipients.

The zakat workers receive an eighth of the zakat funds. If this amount is more than it would cost to hire someone to do their job, then they return the excess for distribution to the other categories of recipients. But if less (N: than the cost of hiring someone), then enough is taken from the zakat funds to make up the difference. All of this applies only if the imam (A: caliph) is distributing the zakat (O: and has not alloted a fee to the zakat workers from the Muslim common fund (bayt al-mal)). If the property owner is distributing the zakat (O: or if the imam has alloted the workers a fee from the common fund) then the zakat funds are divided solely among the other categories of recipients.

THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE TO BE RECONCILED

h8.14 The fourth category is those whose hearts are to be reconciled. If they are non-Muslims, they are not given zakat, but if Muslims, then they may be given it (O: so that their certainly may increase, or if they are recent converts to Islam and are alienated from their kin).

Those to be reconciled include:

1. the chief personages of a people (O: with weak Islamic intentions) whose Islam may be expected to improve, or whose peers may be expected to enter Islam;
2. or the heads of a people who collect zakat for us from Muslims living near them who refuse to pay it, or who fight an enemy for us at considerable expense and trouble to themselves.

THOSE PURCHASING THEIR FREEDOM

h8.15 The fifth category is slaves who are purchasing their freedom from their owners. They are given enough to do so if they do not have the means.

THOSE IN DEBT

h8.16 The sixth category is those who have debts (O: and they are of three types):

1. A person who incurs debts in order to settle trouble (O: between two people, parties, or tribes) involving bloodshed (O: as when there has been a killing but it is not known who the killer is, and trouble has arisen between the two sides) or to settle trouble concerning property (O: such as bearing the expense when trouble occurs over it) is given zakat even if he is affluent.
2. A person who incurs debts to support himself or his dependents is given zakat if he is poor, but not if affluent. If he incurs a debt (O: for something lawful) but spends it on something unlawful, and then repents (O: and is felt to be sincere in this, and the original reason is known to have been something lawful), then he is given zakat.
3. (O: And a third type, not mentioned by the author, which (n: given persons P, Q, and R ) is when R incurs a debt by guaranteeing (daman, def; k15) to P that Q will pay P (n: what Q owes him). If R finds that neither he nor Q can pay, then R is given zakat (n: because he has gone into debt in order to guarantee Q's debt), even if the reason R agreed to guarantee Q was not charity (N: but was rather that Q would pay him back).)

THOSE FIGHTING FOR ALLAH

h8.17 The seventh category is those fighting for Allah, meaning people engaged in Islamic military operations for whom no salary has been allotted in the army roster (O: but who are volunteers for jihad without remuneration). They are given enough to suffice them for the operation, even if affluent; of weapons, mounts, clothing, and expenses (O: for the duration of the journey, round trip, and the time they spend there, even if prolonged. Though nothing has been mentioned here of the expense involved in supporting such people's families during this period, it seems clear that they should also be given it).

TRAVELLERS NEEDING MONEY

h8.18 The eighth category is the traveller in need of money, meaning one who is passing among us (O: i.e. through a town in Muslim lands where zakat is collected), or whose journey was not undertaken for the purpose of disobeying Allah. If such a person is in need, he is given enough to cover his personal expenses and transportation, even if he possesses money back home.

PAYING ZAKAT TO RECIPIENTS

h8.19 A person who qualifies as a member of two or more of the above categories is only given zakat for one of them.

h8.20 When the (N: eight) categories of recipients exist in the town where zakat is collected, it is unlawful and invalid to give it to recipients elsewhere (O: as it must be paid to those present if the property owner is distributing his own zakat. The other schools of jurisprudence permit giving it elsewhere). But if the imam (A: caliph) is distributing the zakat, he may give it to recipients in a different place.

If the zakat giver's property is in the desert, or none of the eight categories of eligible zakat recipients exist in his own town, then the zakat should be distributed in the nearest town.

h8.21 Each category of recipients must receive an equal share, one-eighth of the total (dis:h8.7(n:)) (A: though one may give various individuals within a particular category more or less), except for zakat workers, who receive only their due wage (def:h8.13).

If one of the categories does not exist in one's town, their eighth is distributed over the other categories such that each of them gets oneseventh. If two categories of recipients do not exist in the town, then each of the remaining categories receive a sixth of the zakat, and so on (O: such that if there were only one category in town, all the zakat would be paid to it).

It is obligatory to give zakat to every individual member of a category if the owner is distributing zakat and the individuals are of a limited, known number, or if the imam is distributing zakat and it is possible to give it out person by person and include them all because of the abundance of funds.

If the owner is distributing zakat and the recipients in each category are not of a limited, known number, then the fewest permissible for him to give to in one category of zakat workers, in which a single person is enough.

h8.22 It is recommended to give one's zakat to relatives other than those one is obliged to support (def: m12.1).

h8.23 It is recommended to distribute zakat to recipients in proportion to their needs, giving someone who needs 100 dirhams, for example, half of what one gives to someone who needs 200.

h8.24 It is not permissible to give zakat to a non-Muslim, or to someone whom one is obliged to support (def: m12.1), such as a wife or family member.

h8.25 It is not valid for one to give zakat to a poor person on condition that he return it to one to pay off a debt he owes, or to tell the recipient, "O hereby make the money you owe me zakat, so keep it for yourself." But it is permissible:

1. for the giver to pay his zakat (O: to a poor person who owes him money) when the giver's intention is that the recipient should pay him back with it;
2. for the zakat giver to tell the poor person,"Pay me the money you owe me so that I can give it to you as zakat";
3. or for the poor person to tell his creditor, "Give me (O: zakat) so that I can pay it back to you (O: for the debt I owe you)";

though it is not obligatory to fulfill these promises (O: meaning the outcomes alluded to in (2) and (3) above).

h8.26 All of the above rulings concerning zakat (h8.2-25) apply to the zakat of 'Eid al-Fitr (def; h7) (O: in details, in giving it to deserving recipients (N: the eight categories described in this section), and in giving it in advance). It is permissible for a group of people to pool their zakat of `Eid al-Fitr,mix it, and collectively distribute it, or for one of them to distribute it with the others permission. (O: The author mentions this to inform people that anyone can distribute their zakat of `Eid al-Fitr to all categories of recipients, no matter how little it is.)

h9.0 VOLUNTARY CHARITY

h9.1 Giving voluntary charity is recommended at all times; especially during Ramadan, before praying for something one needs, (O: when there is an eclipse, illness, or journey,) and at all noble times and places (O: e.g. times such as the first ten days of Dhul Hijja or the days of `Eid and places such as Mecca or Medina).

h9.2 It is superior to give charity to righteous people (O: meaning those who give Allah and His slaves their due), to one's relatives (A: which is better than giving to the righteous), even those of them who are one's enemies (A: and this is better than giving to one's friends among them), and to give from the best of one's wealth (O: meaning that which is lawful, which is better than giving what is from a doubtful source, or giving what is of poor quality, either of which are offensive to give as charity. It is unlawful to give property that has been unlawfully obtained (N: if one knows its rightful owner. If not, one must give it as charity (A: or taxes (def: p32)) to remove it from one's possession)).

h9.3 It is unlawful to give as charity money needed to support one's dependents or needed to pay a debt that is currently due (O: because supporting one's dependents or paying a current debt are obligatory, and obligatory acts take precedence over recommended ones).

h9.4 It is recommended to give away in charity everything one owns that is in excess (O: of personal expenses and the expenses of those one is obliged to support), provided one can be patient with the resultant poverty. (O: But if one cannot be patient, it is offensive to give away what is in excess of one's needs.)

h9.5 It is offensive to ask for anything besides paradise with the words "For the sake [lit. "By the countenance (O: i.e. entity)"] of Allah," though if someone does, it is offensive not to give to him.

h9.6 It is unlawful to remind a recipient of charity that one has given him (mann, dis:p36), and it eliminates the reward.

h9.7 (O: It is permissible to give charity to a person not in need, or to a relative of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace). It is offensive for a person not in need to accept charity, and preferable that he avoid it. It is unlawful for such a person to accept it if he pretends to be needy, and is unlawful for him to ask for charity.

It is permissible to give charity to a non-Muslim (n: but not zakat, as above at h8.24).)

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